


mended

by migraineroom



Category: AFTER LIFE 소원을 담는 만화경 | AFTER LIFE: The Sacred Kaleidoscope (Visual Novel)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Fluff, Found Family, Found Family?, Gen, Oneshot, a lot of thoughts lol, bruise and violence mention, character study kinda, contains slight spoilers for Noah's backstory, idk - Freeform, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:29:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/migraineroom/pseuds/migraineroom
Summary: he had done a lot of things wrong
Relationships: Noah/Kati (AFTER LIFE: The Sacred Kaleidoscope)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	mended

Noah had done a lot of things wrong.

Well, it depends on how you look at it, really. Does the end truly justify the means? Was it all worth it when the reason he was doing it was to help his family? Even with all the bloodshed- he tried his best to lessen the damage, but there were still lives lost, and people hurt- he only needed the money. It wasn't like he wanted to hurt others.

Still, Noah felt sick. As he stared at his hands, he traced the scars with his eyes and remembered the pain of past bruises, compulsively clenching his fists until it hurt.

He hated himself for it. Oh, so badly. The man never thought he was good, even though his last name was Kind - he scoffed at the irony. His father would be ashamed if he saw his son like this. He was ashamed of himself for turning out like this. He didn't mean to- if he could go back in time and go a different path, Noah would take anything he could get.

Nobody in the Department really knew, except for the manager. She was kind enough when she found out about it, and comforted him by pointing out that he was only forced to do it out of necessity. But he didn't want the others to know. What would they think about him, if they discover his past? They looked up to him. Especially...

Noah looked down at his lap. There lay a sleeping Kati, pink hair messy as he snored softly. The kid was only 16 when he died and came here. When they met and found out they were roommates, it was chaotic as they tried to adjust. _It's still chaotic,_ he thought amusedly.

Kati never told him about his past life and what happened, but since the start, Noah already felt the need to be a big brother to him. It came naturally- but thinking about it made him remember _his_ past, the bittersweet taste on his mouth inevitably coming back.

It was funny how their relationship worked. The others were always telling Noah that he shouldn't baby the kid, he needed to learn how to grow up and mature- but ah, how can he resist Kati? He was cheerful and energetic, and though he was a headache to deal with, especially when he has to apologize for Kati, he couldn't help but spoil the youngest member of his team.

He thought about how Kati always tried to challenge him to ridiculous contests, too. The teenager was so competitive with Noah for some reason. It was sweet in a way, but Noah was afraid of how Kati looked up to him. Did he truly deserve the admiration? If Kati knew all the horrible stuff he did in his past life, he'd surely be disappointed to find out Noah wasn't as good as everybody thought he was.

Noah was afraid of losing Kati.

The man smiled bitterly when he realized that. Of course, he thought of him as family now. He thought of everybody on his team as a family. They saw him as a big brother, he knew it. _What a perfect big brother he was_. But you can't erase your mistakes, or change your past. That was what the manager told him. The 27 years he's lived was over, and now he was in the Otherworld, trying not to lead other souls astray.

Kati shifted, and Noah realized he was deep in thought. The kid exhausted himself again trying to win a contest he announced- though he won in the end, Noah secretly let him win. They sat on the rooftop in the late afternoon, slacking off on their patrolling shift and watching the sun go down. The younger of them became tired, and Noah offered his lap, Kati unable to resist as his eyes drooped.

There they were, watching the sunset in silence and all the things left unsaid. They didn't need to say it. Noah had a feeling that just like him, Kati's backstory involved his family somehow too.

Well, Noah was here to be his big brother now.

He sighed, letting his thoughts pass. Maybe here, he could change for the better and atone for his past. His hands were still scarred, but he couldn't feel the pain now. His hands hurt others so much... Well, he was always good at fixing things.

Noah looked at Kati, sleeping peacefully.

He was good at fixing things.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this one at 3 am in the morning before my finals, because my brain decided to noahkati angst brainrot, so forgive me if this isnt the best, but if youre reading this rn thank u and pls subscribe to noahkati supremacy thank u very much :> i hope you enjoyed reading it! <3


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